John Barry

Biography

John Barry Prendergast OBE (3 November 1933 – 30 January 2011) was an English composer and conductor of film music. Born in York, Barry spent his early years working in cinemas owned by his father. During his national service with the British Army in Cyprus, Barry began performing as a musician after learning to play the trumpet. Upon completing his national service, he formed a band in 1957, the John Barry Seven. He later developed an interest in composing and arranging music, making his début for television in 1958. He came to the notice of the filmmakers of the first James Bond film Dr. No, who were dissatisfied with a theme for James Bond given to them by Monty Norman. Noel Rogers, the head of music at United Artists, approached Barry. This started a successful association between Barry and the Bond series that lasted for 25 years.
Barry composed the scores for eleven of the James Bond films between 1963 and 1987, as well as arranging and performing the "James Bond Theme" for the first film in the series, 1962's Dr. No. He wrote the Grammy- and Academy Award-winning scores to the films Dances with Wolves (1990) and Out of Africa (1985), as well as the scores of The Scarlet Letter (1995), Chaplin (1992), The Cotton Club (1984), Game of Death (1972), The Tamarind Seed (1974), Mary, Queen of Scots (1971), The Ipcress File (1965), and the theme for the television series The Persuaders!, in a career spanning over 50 years. In 1999, he was appointed with an OBE for services to music.
Barry received awards including five Academy Awards: two for Born Free and one each for The Lion in Winter (for which he also won the first BAFTA Award for Best Film Music), Out of Africa and Dances with Wolves (both of which also won him Grammy Awards). He also received ten Golden Globe Award nominations, winning once for Best Original Score for Out of Africa in 1986. Barry completed his last film score, Enigma, in 2001 and recorded the successful album Eternal Echoes×Eternal Echoes18 September 2001 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Eternal Echoes4:262Returning Home4:133Crazy Dog3:044Slow Day3:035Fred & Cyd4:076Blessed Illusion4:097Lullabying3:188Winning3:579Get Over It3:5510First Steps3:4811Elegy5:37 the same year. He then concentrated chiefly on live performances and co-wrote the music to the musical Brighton Rock in 2004 alongside Don Black.
In 2001, Barry became a Fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, and, in 2005, he was made a Fellow of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Barry was married four times and had four children. He moved to the United States in 1975 and lived there until his death in 2011.

Early life and education

Barry was born John Barry Prendergast in York, the youngest of four children. His mother, a classical pianist, was English; his Irish father, John Xavier "Jack" Prendergast from Cork, was a projectionist during the silent film era and later owned a chain of cinemas across northern England. As a result of his father's work, Barry was raised in and around cinemas in northern England and he later stated that this childhood background influenced his musical tastes and interests. He had two older brothers and one older sister. Barry was educated at Bar Convent (primary) School then St Peter's School, York, and received composition lessons from Francis Jackson, Organist of York Minster.

Career

Barry spent his national service in the British Army playing the trumpet, working from a correspondence course with jazz composer Bill Russo. After national service he worked as an arranger for the orchestras of Jack Parnell and Ted Heath, forming his own band, the John Barry Seven, in 1957. The John Barry Seven recorded hit records on EMI's Columbia label including "Hit and Miss×Hit and Miss30 June 1997 · Album · CompilationSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 20 tracks1Hideaway (With Latin American Accompaniment) (1993 Remaster)2:092When the Saints Go Marching In (1993 Remaster)1:483Long John (1993 Remaster)2:244Twelfth Street Rag (1993 Remaster)1:365Hit and Miss (Theme from the TV Series “Juke Box Jury”)2:036Beat for Beatniks2:097Blueberry Hill (1993 Remaster)1:458Never Let Go (1993 Remaster)2:109Walk Don’t Run2:1610Black Stockings2:2311The Magnificent Seven (1993 Remaster)1:5812It Doesn’t Matter Anymore (1993 Remaster)1:5413Spanish Harlem (1993 Remaster)2:2314The James Bond Theme2:0215Cutty Sark2:4116Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White1:5817Unchained Melody2:2518I’ll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time2:1819Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu)2:1420That Fatal Kiss2:30", the theme tune he composed for the BBC's Juke Box Jury programme; a cover of the Johnny Smith song "Walk Don't Run"; and a cover of the theme for the United Artists western The Magnificent Seven.
By 1959 Barry was gaining commissions to arrange music for other acts, starting with a young trio on Decca, coincidentally called the Three Barry Sisters, though unrelated both to Barry and American duo The Barry Sisters. The career breakthrough for Barry was the BBC television series Drumbeat, when he appeared with the John Barry Seven. He was employed by EMI from 1959 until 1962 arranging orchestral accompaniments for the company's singers, including Adam Faith. He also composed songs (along with Les Vandyke) and scores for films in which Faith was featured. When Faith made his first film, Beat Girl (1960), Barry composed, arranged and conducted the film score, his first. His music was later released as the UK's first soundtrack album.
Barry also composed the music for another Faith film, Never Let Go (also 1960), orchestrated the score for Mix Me a Person (1962), and composed, arranged and conducted the score for The Amorous Prawn (also 1962). In 1962, Barry transferred to Ember Records, where he produced and arranged albums.
These achievements caught the attention of the producers of a new film called Dr. No (1962) who were dissatisfied with a theme for James Bond given to them by Monty Norman. Barry was hired and his arrangement of Norman's composition created the "James Bond Theme". When the producers of the Bond series sought to hire Lionel Bart to score the next James Bond film From Russia with Love (1963), they learned that Bart could not read or write music. Though Bart wrote a title song for the film, the producers remembered Barry's arrangement of the James Bond Theme and his composing and arranging for several films with Adam Faith. Bart also recommended Barry to producer Stanley Baker for his 1964 film Zulu. That same year Bart and Barry collaborated on the film Man in the Middle; and then, in 1965, Barry worked with director Bryan Forbes in scoring the World War II prison-camp drama King Rat.
This was the turning point for Barry, and he subsequently won five Academy Awards and four Grammy Awards, with scores for, among others, Born Free (1966), The Lion in Winter (1968), Midnight Cowboy (1969) for which he did not receive an on-screen credit, and Somewhere in Time (1980).
Barry was often cited as having had a distinct style which concentrated on lush strings and extensive use of brass. He was one of the first to employ synthesizers in a film score (On Her Majesty's Secret Service, also 1969), and to make wide use of pop artists and songs in Midnight Cowboy. Because Barry provided not just the main title theme but the complete soundtrack score, his music often enhanced the critical reception of a film, notably in Midnight Cowboy, The Tamarind Seed, the first remake of King Kong (1976), Out of Africa (1985), and Dances with Wolves (1990). Barry would often watch films and would note down with pen and paper what worked or what did not.
Barry composed the theme for the TV series The Persuaders! (1971) in which Tony Curtis and Roger Moore were paired as rich playboys solving crimes. The instrumental recording features the cimbalom (which Barry also used for The Ipcress File (1965) and other themes) and Moog synthesizers. The theme was a hit single in many European countries (including France, Germany, and the Benelux states), contributing to the cult status of the series in Europe, and the record featured Barry's "The Girl with the Sun in Her Hair" on the B side, an instrumental piece featured in a long running TV advert for Sunsilk shampoo. Barry also wrote the scores to a number of musicals, including the 1965 Passion Flower Hotel (lyrics by Trevor Peacock), the successful 1974 West End show Billy (lyrics by Don Black), and two intended Broadway musicals that never opened on Broadway, Lolita, My Love (1971), with Alan Jay Lerner as lyricist, and The Little Prince and the Aviator (1981), again with lyricist Don Black. Barry also composed the soundtrack for the Bruce Lee film Game of Death×Game of Death25 April 1978 · Album · SoundtrackSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Main Title / Bruce Lee Theme2:43A2Will This Be the Song I'll Be Singing Tomorrow?2:36A3Gathering Speed5:46A4A Matter of Survival3:58A5Will This Be the Song I'll Be Singing Tomorrow?2:21B1Main Title / Bruce Lee Theme2:43B2Everything at Hand2:47B3The Game of Death2:53B4Will This Be the Song I'll Be Singing Tomorrow?2:21B5End Title / Final Justice2:55B6Face'Off With Hakim3:30 (1978).
In 2001, the University of York conferred an honorary degree on Barry, and in 2002 he was named an Honorary Freeman of the City of York.
During 2006, Barry was the executive producer on an album entitled Here's to the Heroes by the Australian ensemble The Ten Tenors. The album features a number of songs Barry wrote in collaboration with his lyricist friend, Don Black. Barry and Black also composed one of the songs on Shirley Bassey's 2009 album, The Performance. The song, entitled "Our Time Is Now", is the first written by the duo for Bassey since "Diamonds Are Forever×Diamonds Are ForeverOctober 1971 · Album · SoundtrackSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Diamonds Are Forever (main title)2:432Bonds Meets Bambi and Thumper2:083Moon Buggy Ride3:154Circus, Circus2:595Death at the Whyte House3:466Diamonds Are Forever3:477Diamonds Are Forever (instrumental)2:358Bond Smells a Rat1:549Tiffany Case3:4710007 and Counting3:3311Q's Trick2:2712To Hell With Blofeld1:35".

James Bond

After the success of Dr. No, Barry was hired to compose and perform eleven of the next fourteen James Bond films.
In his tenure with the film series, Barry's music, variously brassy and moody, achieved very wide appeal. For From Russia with Love he composed "007", an alternative James Bond signature theme, which is featured in four other Bond films (Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, and Moonraker). The theme "Stalking", for the teaser sequence of From Russia with Love, was covered by colleague Marvin Hamlisch for The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). Barry also contributed indirectly to the soundtrack of the spoof version of Casino Royale (1967): his Born Free×Born Free4 April 2000 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks1Born Free Main Title2:552The Hunt3:203Feeding Time2:004Else at Play5:335Playtime3:246The Death of Pati3:447Killing at Ksunga2:368Waiting for Joy2:199Holiday With Elsa4:0710Elephant Stampede2:4311The New Reserve3:4412Flirtation3:2313Abandoning Elsa1:5714Elsa's Kill0:4915Fight of the Lioness2:5316Wild and Free1:4517Reunion / Born Free6:20 theme appears briefly in the opening sequence.
In Goldfinger (1964), he perfected the "Bond sound", a heady mixture of brass, jazz elements and sensuous melodies. There is even an element of Barry's jazz roots in the big-band track "Into Miami", which follows the title credits and accompanies the film's iconic image of the camera lens zooming toward the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach.
Barry's love for the Russian romantic composers is often reflected in his music; in his Bond scores he unites this with brass-heavy jazz writing. His use of strings, lyricism, half-diminished chords and complex key shifting provides melancholy contrast; in his scores this is often heard in variations of the title songs that are used to underscore plot development.
As Barry matured, the Bond scores became more lushly melodic (along with other scores of his such as The Tamarind Seed and Out of Africa) as in Moonraker (1979) and Octopussy (1983). Barry's score for A View to a Kill was traditional, but his collaboration with Duran Duran for the title song was contemporary and reached number one in the United States and number two in the UK Singles Chart. Both A View to a Kill and The Living Daylights theme by A-ha blended the pop music style of the bands with Barry's orchestration.
In 2006, A-ha's Pal Waaktaar complimented Barry's contributions: "I loved the stuff he added to the track, I mean it gave it this really cool string arrangement. That's when for me it started to sound like a Bond thing."
Barry's last score for the Bond series was The Living Daylights (1987), Timothy Dalton's first film in the series, with Barry making a cameo appearance as a conductor in the film. Barry was intended to score Licence to Kill (1989) but was recovering from throat surgery at the time, and it was considered unsafe to fly him to London to complete the score. The score was completed by Michael Kamen.
David Arnold, a British composer, saw the result of two years' work in 1997 with the release of Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project, an album of new versions of the themes from various James Bond films. Arnold thanks Barry in the sleeve notes, referring to him as "the Guvnor". Almost all of the tracks were Barry compositions, and the revision of his work met with his approval – he contacted Barbara Broccoli, producer of the then upcoming Tomorrow Never Dies, to recommend Arnold as the film's composer. Arnold also went on to score four subsequent Bond films: The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.

The James Bond theme

Monty Norman, who was contracted as composer for Dr. No, received sole compositional credit for the James Bond Theme. Nearly 40 years later, in 2001, the disputed authorship of the theme was examined legally in the High Court in London after Norman sued The Sunday Times for libel for publishing an article in 1997 in which Barry was named as the true composer; Barry testified for the defence.
In court, Barry testified that he had been handed a musical manuscript of a work by Norman (meant to become the theme) and that he was to arrange it musically, and that he composed additional music and arranged the "James Bond Theme". He also claimed that Norman received sole credit because of his prior contract with the producers. Barry said that a deal was struck whereby he would receive a flat fee of £250 and Norman would receive the songwriting credit. Barry said that he had accepted the deal with United Artists Head of Music Noel Rogers because it would help his career. Despite these claims, the jury ruled unanimously in favour of Norman.
On 7 September 2006, Barry reiterated his claim of authorship of the theme on the Steve Wright show on BBC Radio 2.

Personal life

Barry was married four times. His first three marriages, to Barbara Pickard (1959–1963), Jane Birkin (1965–1968) and Jane Sidey (1969–1978) all ended in divorce. He was married to his fourth wife, Laurie, from January 1978 until his death. Barry had three daughters: Suzanne with his first wife, Barbara; Kate with his second wife, Jane; and Sian, from a relationship with Ulla Larson between the first two marriages. He also had a son, Jonpatrick with his last wife, Laurie.
In 1975, Barry moved to Los Angeles in the US. He had originally intended to stay there for only a few weeks, but stayed on the West Coast for almost five years. A British judge later accused him of emigrating to avoid paying £134,000 due to the Inland Revenue. The matter was resolved in the late 1980s, and Barry was able to return to the UK. He subsequently lived for many years in the United States, mainly in Oyster Bay, New York, in Centre Island on Long Island, from 1980.
Barry suffered a rupture of the esophagus in 1988, following a toxic reaction to a health tonic he had consumed. The incident rendered him unable to work for two years and left him vulnerable to pneumonia.

Death

Barry died of a heart attack on 30 January 2011 at his Oyster Bay home, aged 77. He was buried in Locust Valley Cemetery, Locust Valley, New York.
A memorial concert took place on 20 June 2011 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, where the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Shirley Bassey, Rumer, David Arnold, Wynne Evans and others performed Barry's music. George Martin, Michael Parkinson, Don Black, Timothy Dalton and others also contributed to the celebration of his life and work. The event was sponsored by the Royal College of Music through a grant by the Broccoli Foundation.

Bond films

Barry worked on the soundtracks for the following James Bond films (title song collaborators in brackets):

Dr. No (1962) – "James Bond Theme" (composed by Monty Norman) as arranged by Barry used on main and end titles, key points such as Bond's arrival in Jamaica
From Russia with Love (title song music and lyrics by Lionel Bart) (1963)
Goldfinger (lyrics by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse) (1964)
Thunderball (lyrics by Don Black) (1965)
You Only Live Twice (lyrics by Leslie Bricusse) (1967)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Diamonds Are Forever (lyrics by Don Black) (1971)
The Man with the Golden Gun (lyrics by Don Black) (1974)
Moonraker (lyrics by Hal David) (1979)
Octopussy – "All Time High" (lyrics by Tim Rice) (1983)
A View to a Kill (music and lyrics by Duran Duran) (1985)
The Living Daylights (music and lyrics by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy) (1987)
In addition, a brief excerpt from the song "Born Free×Born Free4 April 2000 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks1Born Free Main Title2:552The Hunt3:203Feeding Time2:004Else at Play5:335Playtime3:246The Death of Pati3:447Killing at Ksunga2:368Waiting for Joy2:199Holiday With Elsa4:0710Elephant Stampede2:4311The New Reserve3:4412Flirtation3:2313Abandoning Elsa1:5714Elsa's Kill0:4915Fight of the Lioness2:5316Wild and Free1:4517Reunion / Born Free6:20" is heard during a sequence in the non-EON Productions Bond film, Casino Royale (1967).

Television film scores

Elizabeth Taylor in London (Grammy award nomination) (1963)
Sophia Loren in Rome (1964)
The Glass Menagerie (1973)
Love Among the Ruins (1975)
Eleanor and Franklin (1976)
Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years (1977)
The War Between the Tates (1977)
Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy (1977)
The Gathering (1977)
The Corn Is Green (1979)
Willa (1979)
Svengali (1983)

Television themes

Juke Box Jury (1959–1967)
Dateline (1962)
Impromptu (1964)
The Newcomers (1965–1969)
Vendetta (1966)
The Persuaders! (1971–1972)
The Adventurer (1972–1973)
Orson Welles Great Mysteries (1973)
Born Free (1974)
USA Today: The Television Show (1988)

Musicals

Passion Flower Hotel (1965)
Lolita, My Love (1971), a musical comedy (text by Alan Jay Lerner) based on Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita
Billy (1974)
The Little Prince and the Aviator (1981)
Brighton Rock (2004)

Other works

Stringbeat (1961)
Americans (1975)
The Beyondness of Things (1999)
Eternal Echoes (2001)
The Seasons (no release date set)

Singles

(Excludes co-composed hits, e.g. Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill")

"Hit and Miss×Hit and Miss30 June 1997 · Album · CompilationSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 20 tracks1Hideaway (With Latin American Accompaniment) (1993 Remaster)2:092When the Saints Go Marching In (1993 Remaster)1:483Long John (1993 Remaster)2:244Twelfth Street Rag (1993 Remaster)1:365Hit and Miss (Theme from the TV Series “Juke Box Jury”)2:036Beat for Beatniks2:097Blueberry Hill (1993 Remaster)1:458Never Let Go (1993 Remaster)2:109Walk Don’t Run2:1610Black Stockings2:2311The Magnificent Seven (1993 Remaster)1:5812It Doesn’t Matter Anymore (1993 Remaster)1:5413Spanish Harlem (1993 Remaster)2:2314The James Bond Theme2:0215Cutty Sark2:4116Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White1:5817Unchained Melody2:2518I’ll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time2:1819Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu)2:1420That Fatal Kiss2:30" as The John Barry Seven plus Four, UK No. 10 (first charted 1960)
"Beat for Beatniks" as The John Barry Orchestra, UK No. 40 (1960)
"Never Let Go×Never Let Go1 June 2021 · EP · SoundtrackSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1When Johnny Comes Home (Never Let Go Main Title)1:422Victory Cafe1:463Meadow's Auto Body Shop2:414I'll Kill that Bastard2:485Final Confrontation1:30" as The John Barry Orchestra, UK No. 49 (1960)
"Blueberry Hill" as The John Barry Orchestra, UK No. 34 (1960)
"Walk Don't Run" as The John Barry Seven, UK No. 11 (1960)
"Black Stockings" as The John Barry Seven, UK No. 27 (1960)
"The Magnificent Seven" as The John Barry Seven, UK No. 45 (1961)
"Cutty Sark" as The John Barry Seven, UK No. 35 (1962)
"The James Bond Theme×The James Bond ThemeApril 1963 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAThe James Bond Theme1:57BMarch of the Mandarins3:00" as The John Barry Orchestra, UK No. 13 (1962)
"From Russia with Love×From Russia With Love1963 · Album · SoundtrackSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 18 tracks1Opening Titles: James Bond Is Back / Lionel Bart - From Russia With Love / Monty Norman - James Bond Theme2:292Tania Meets Klebb1:303Meeting in St. Sophia1:104The Golden Horn2:285Girl Trouble2:276Bond Meets Tania1:2170072:498Gypsy Camp1:189Death of Grant2:0210From Russia With Love2:3611SPECTRE Island1:1912Guitar Lament1:1213Man Overboard / SMERSH in Action2:1914James Bond With Bongos2:3215Stalking2:0616Leila Dances1:5717Death of Kerin2:3118007 Takes the Lektor3:02" as The John Barry Orchestra, UK No. 39 (1963)
"Theme from The Persuaders!×Theme From The Persuaders!1972 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1Theme From 'The Persuaders!'A2Midnight CowboyA3GoldfingerA4The Danny Scipio ThemeA5007A6The Girl With the Sun in Her HairB1On Her Majesty's Secret ServiceB2VendettaB3ThunderballB4The ChaseB5From Russia With LoveB6The James Bond Theme as John Barry, UK No. 13 (1971)
His four highest-charting hits all spent more than 10 weeks in the UK top 50.